Parliamentary Bills
| Date | 01 January 1965 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836502900111 |
| Published date | 01 January 1965 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Parliamentary
Bills
AParliamentary Billdoesnot always reach the Statute Book. Bills arefrequently
amended before becoming Acts
of
Parliament. This Section should be read
accordingly.
DOGS
BILL
THE deposit of canine excrement on footways is
undoub-
tedly anuisance to pedestrians.
Not
only does it cause
offence
and
inconvenience: it is also unhygienic.
In
many parts
of the country it is made
the
subject of a Bye-Law whose
effectiveness largely depends on the co-operation of the public
and
the
policy of
the
Local Authority.
This
Bill makes it an offence for any person to allow his
dog or a dog in his charge to foul either the footway in a
highway which has street lamps
not
more
than
200
yards
apart or a public open space adjoining
such
a footway.
It
also enables aconstable or an authorised officer of a
local authority to
impound
a dog found wandering, to destroy
or dispose of it if
not
claimed within 14 days
and
to recover
expenses from aclaimant.
Comment
As
printed
this Bill may well lead to practical difficulties.
The
offence is to 'allow'
the
dog to foul
the
footway or the
open
space.
It
is assumed
that
'foul' means to deposit its excrement
or to urinate. 'Allow' is defined as
'permit'
which has been
decided by
the
High
Court
to involve adegree of knowledge.
The
difficulty of proving
that
an owner knew
that
his dog was
about
to foul
the
footway may
not
be insurmountable, partic-
ularly
when
his dog is on a lead
and
he does
not
pull
him
off
the
pavement into
the
highway.
But
what
is
the
position in
the
public open space?
Presum-
ably
Hyde
Park
and
possibly
the
New
Forest qualify as
pub-
lic open spaces adjoining a footway on a highway which has
appropriate street lighting.
Can
it be said
that
the
owner of a
64
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